Iraq's Construction and Development Coalition backs judiciary after ex-deputy oil minister's arrest

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Construction and Development Coalition publicly aligned itself with the judiciary following the arrest of former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Janabi, a political move that has shaped debate around the bloc and its leader, former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani. The coalition did not mount a defense for the detained official, did not intervene in the legal proceedings and framed its message around the principle that anti-corruption efforts apply to everyone. Coalition officials said holding a public office does not shield any individual from investigation or prosecution, emphasizing that criminal responsibility is personal. Al-Sudani himself threw his weight behind the anti-corruption campaign being carried out by Prime Minister Ali al-Jawadi's government, signaling continuity with the incumbent administration's stated drive against graft. The coalition said it is leaving the case to the judiciary and the Commission on Integrity, while calling for investigations into additional files, including contracts related to the arming of the Iraqi army, wheat marketing, what officials described as the "theft of the century" and other agreements from previous years. The bloc framed anti-corruption as a state project rather than that of a single government, asserting that all cases should be examined without selectivity.